Buyers need to earn $109,796 a year to afford the typical home for sale in the United States, according to new data from Redfin published Wednesday. That figure is down just 0.5% from the all-time high of $110,382 a year earlier, meaning the income bar for homeownership is essentially holding at a record level even as it stops climbing.
The report, based on June 2026 sales data, shows an affordability picture that has stopped getting worse for the first time in years but has not meaningfully improved. Redfin says the typical U.S. household earns $87,599, up 4% year over year β leaving a gap of $22,197 between what families make and what it takes to buy the median home without being financially stretched.
How Redfin Gets to $109,796
Redfin calculates the income figure using a standard affordability threshold: a home is considered affordable if the monthly mortgage payment, including estimated property taxes, does not exceed 30% of a buyer’s income. The analysis is built on median home-sale prices, prevailing mortgage rates in the mid-6% range as of June, and assumes a 15% down payment. That combination of still-elevated prices and mortgage rates that have leveled off, rather than fallen sharply, is what is keeping the required income parked near its peak.
Redfin frames the story as one of stabilization rather than relief. The company reports that typical buyers are now spending 37.6% of their income on a median-priced home, an improvement from 39.3% a year ago, and that 34.2% of U.S. listings were affordable to a median-earning household in June, up from 30.5% a year earlier. The gap between required and actual income has also narrowed over time β it stood at $26,125 a year ago and $28,834 two years ago, according to Redfin, a trend the company attributes to household incomes rising faster than housing costs recently.
According to Redfin, senior economist Yingqi Xu said the earnings needed to buy a house have stabilized after several years of deterioration, but cautioned that stabilization does not mean homes are actually affordable for most families.
Redfin’s report also breaks out starter homes, a category the company defines as smaller, lower-priced properties typically bought by first-time buyers. Redfin says the income needed to afford a typical starter home fell to $70,693, down 1.5% from a year earlier β a steeper improvement than the overall market, which Redfin attributes largely to relatively slower price growth at the entry-level tier. That trend echoes a broader pattern RealtyWire has covered in home-price data showing uneven appreciation across markets and price tiers this year.
Metro-level results in the Redfin data varied widely. The company reports Seattle posted the biggest improvement in required income, down 7.4% to $221,831, followed by San Jose (down 6.5% to $423,840) and Portland, Oregon (down 4.5% to $153,844). Affordability worsened most in San Francisco, where the required income rose 6.2% to $453,205, as well as in Pittsburgh (up 6.3% to $82,816) and West Palm Beach, Florida (up 5.6% to $146,404). Redfin identifies St. Louis, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh as the only major metros where the typical household earns enough to afford the local median-priced home.
What It Means
The verified fact here is Redfin’s own calculation: $109,796 in annual income is needed to comfortably afford the typical U.S. home using its 30%-of-income standard, based on June 2026 sales prices and mortgage rates. That figure, and the year-over-year and metro comparisons, come directly from Redfin’s data and methodology, not from independent verification by RealtyWire.
Redfin’s characterization of the trend as “stabilizing” is the company’s own interpretation of its data, and it is consistent with a market where mortgage rates have stopped falling sharply and price growth has slowed, as reflected in Redfin’s own weekly market updates on buyer activity and mortgage trends. Whether that counts as good news for buyers depends heavily on local market conditions, since the metro-level swings in the report range from a 7.4% improvement to a 6.3% deterioration within the same national snapshot.
What to Watch
Redfin’s monthly affordability figure tends to move with two inputs: median home-sale prices and average mortgage rates. Any renewed rate volatility this fall, or a shift in inventory levels that pushes prices higher or lower, would likely move the required-income figure in Redfin’s next report. Buyers and industry watchers will also be looking at whether the narrowing gap between required and actual household income continues, or whether it stalls if income growth cools.
